


I Wish I Could Be

by tomlenson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Short Story, harry is a merman, idk - Freeform, larry stylinson - Freeform, louis is the cute blacksmith, merman styles, thought i would write something weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-26
Updated: 2013-06-26
Packaged: 2017-12-16 05:19:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/858244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomlenson/pseuds/tomlenson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis stared down at the green mush that used to be fish, questioning the mental stability of the boy in front of him.<br/>"I'm not eating that." he snapped, wishing his hands were free so he could smack the green stuff from the others.<br/>"But it'll help you."</p><p>Or the one where Louis is a blacksmith that got abducted by pirates and Harry is a merman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

                **It was kind of confusing really**.  Louis woke up early like any other day to the birds chirping loud right outside his little window and the sun shone through even though he is quite positive he closed the shutters the previous night.  Louis seriously did not do much that would cause someone to have the urge to kidnap the local Blacksmith’s son.  What did he even do to cause this because he sure as hell does not know?

He swung his legs to the side of the bed and pushed up with such little force he almost tumbled back down, but he needed to get up and open shop.  He trudged for the bathroom for a quick rinse off which considered of dumping a bucket of water over his head and sticking his feet in another to wash his body.  Someone needed to do something about this and he _really_ hoped it was soon.  After freshening up, Louis skipped down the steps to the little kitchen/living room thing they have going on.  He snuck an apple from the little basket on the table and pushed through a door which brought him right into the shop which was built right next door.  It was truly handy.

There were a couple projects sitting on top of one of the many benches within the shop and he took note to get back to those after he is finished.  Louis really did not plan for his life to be stuck behind a mask and open fire where he molded metal all day; this was something he did not see in his future.  Louis always wanted to travel to Paris and pursue his dream in becoming a famous actor for musicals and live shows at stadiums.  He did not want to waste his life callusing his fingers and cauterize them into little nubs.  This is not what he wanted, but his father just does not understand

He dragged his feet along the dirt ground and pushed up on the gate that covered the front of the shop during closed hours. The front of the shop remained completely open because from what his father had said, “ _The shop will rise in flames fairly quickly if it lacked the openness and the ability to breathe_.” But he is fairly positive that air helps fuel the fire.

Anyways, so, he opened the shop and began working on what he is being paid to do and just out of nowhere; someone sticks a potato page over his head and kicks his knees out from underneath him.  It was so sudden that he really did not have enough time to react before rope was being tied around his wrists tightly and already cutting raw into his skin, and another rope was being tied around his ankles.  He hoped this was some sort of devious prank his friend Niall and Zayn are trying to pull on him, but the scruff voice of a man demanding, “ _Get him to the boat before someone sees!”_ That he really is being kidnapped.

Really, if someone wanted to look at it on some positive note, he will not have to work in the hot workshop anymore (or well he hopes).

Now here Louis is, blindfolded and being beaten repeatedly as he is tied tightly to a large wooden mass on a boat completely defenseless (not like Louis could hold them off any way’s because he is small and has hardly any fighting experience).

(It’s not his fault he was born like this, stop judging.)

Each passing day that the ship swam out farther and the beatings slowly began to stop (or until he is a little more healthy and not so black and blue because it’s not fun punching someone who actually looks ugly), he prayed and wished for something to happen, for someone to come and save him even if they are in the middle of a (fucking) ocean.

And when the ship moved right into a reef, Louis smiled bright because someone must have heard him, but quickly as the pirates climbed into the rafts, he realized that “ _nope, I’m not really being saved_.”


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

                **Harry Styles found lots of things interesting.**   He loved to collect knick-knacks and study human culture and pretend he is a part of it when he is all alone (“ _Because I wish I could be a part of that world_.”)  So when he witnessed the kidnapping of a young boy who he still has not seen the face of, but the body, and he just _had_ to check it out because this is something new.

He glided throughout the water, his hair falling back as he pushed through, and he swam and swam and swam as fast as he could so he could remain alongside the ship.  Curiosity had always been something he possessed and people warned him time and time again that it’s a very dangerous trait to have.  Curiosity killed the cat, right?  Or well curiosity killed the catfish because “ _what is a cat?_ ”

Loud cries sounded from on top of the ship’s deck, and Harry knew quite well it was the boy he saw that had such an amazing body, but a weird looking head (there were no eyes or nose or ears or hair, can you blame him?).  After a couple of days, Harry found himself growing tired from all the swimming, so when the boat came to a rest one night, he swam down to the bottom of the ocean and picked a long thick piece of seaweed which he tied around each end to his wrist after he hooked it around a metal handle a couple meters underwater.  This allowed him to be pulled along with the boat even if he fell asleep.

This was kind of normal for the boy, in a sense of him disappearing for days on end.  Sometimes he does not even come back for months because he wandered off a little too far.  His best friend Liam always grew worried for the younger lads safely because even if some sharks will respond to him, the larger Tiger Sharks always find an excuse to torment the merman.  Life as a half fish is not entirely difficult because he can really just swim anywhere and that’s that.  Although there are rules and guidelines to still follow and it’s rather frustrating because there’s one that states for merpeople to not wander off for long periods of time because it will break them from their school.  Merpeople are always on the move, skipping from reef to reef due to human contact.  Harry though always seems to find a way home, no matter what.  So that rule does not really apply to him.

See, he really does not know what to think when this boat pulls him along because he really just hopes it will stop and he can investigate the lifestyle of the gnarly looking men.  Something about the intricate designs and patterns on their skin have an urge in Harry to trace them delicately and mesmerize is so he can paint them later.  He has his own body art too though, the one which distinguishes which school he is in.  It helps to try and prevent conflicts and disagreements between clans because if they know where he is coming from when he trespassed, than they can solve it with head chief and hope it turns out alright.

Harry was instantly jingled from his sleep when he sensed the odd water change.  A reef was close and the boat was heading straight for it.  He needed to do something, but with a boat this large, there was hardly anything he could do.  The loud crack came sooner than he suspected and he quickly chewed at the green slim tied around his wrist to let him out.  Small boats were soon falling and pattering against the water’s surface and he manages to duck under before someone could spot him.  He watched as they all paddled away and when he bobbed to the surface quiet mumbles came from behind him.  Tied to a long pole was the boy who was quickly sinking below the water and Harry knew humans could not breathe like he could.  So he swam under and popped up in front with a look of curiosity for he has never been _this_ close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, sorry.
> 
> Tell me what you think. :)


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

                **Louis said his prays**.  Prayed to the big man upstairs because what is there else to do when someone’s life is in jeopardy.  No matter the amount of times he had screamed out to the pirates, they were not turning back for him.  Louis was going to die because those men did not want to deal with jail right now.  Nobody deserved something like this, to die with no purpose.  It’s been days since he has been on land, his father and mother are probably wondering where he disappeared off to and it’s not like he would ever be able to tell them what had happened.  They will forever live in the dark not knowing what had happened to their son.

Tears started to wheel in Louis’ eyes as he thought about this mother and the broken expression she is probably wearing and his sisters too!  God, they will not have the ability to grow up with their older brother anymore and have him take them to the open fields and the beaches – they loved going to the beach with him.  He loved his sisters so much; they were basically all he cared about in life.  It did not matter when a young maiden of his father’s friend would come to the house for a dinner and sit there and try and flirt, Louis’ sisters and mothers were all he wanted to be around.  He did not care if they had brown hair or blond, or if their eyes were blue or green, or that their body was the size of a toothpick or they are long and curvy; the wide round blue and dirty blond hair of his sisters were the only things he found beautiful.  It’s not like he was practically attracted to woman, he just preferred to stay away from them.

So as the water reaches to his waist, he just hopes life will treat them all right, and they can move on once he passes.  He could feel it creeping close, but he smiled for their sake, whispering his finally goodbyes.

\- But something happened that not many people can explain, it was so sudden and he really did not know what to make of it.  The person (or whatever because where the fuck did they even come from?) just rose out from the water and “ _who the fuck even does that?!_ ”

The person (or thing, it’s a thing) smiled at him with this one-hundred watt smile and (“ _for fucks sakes,_ ”) he has dimples.  Brown hair fell over his face, and when he ran his fingers through it to push it away it curled ever so slightly.  The boy studied Louis a little before flipping something out of the water and pointing to it with another heavily teethed smile.

Louis’ eyes nearly fell from his head; he could not believe what he was seeing.  His mouth dropped open and he stuttered a little.  “W-what?”  The boy (thing) just continued on smiling as if this is possibly the most normal thing ever.

“Wait—“ Louis eyes widened in realization.  “Oh my god, come here and untie me!” he exclaimed, his eyes pleading for the boy ( _thing_ ) to at least understand him.

Although, all he got in reply was another smile and the boy disappearing back into the water, Louis just thought it was all a hallucination – God getting his hopes up as if he really is going to be saved.  The boat continued to sink and as it reached just below his chest the creature popped back out, but this time with a little green fish.

“Why do you have a fish?  Come untie me!”  Louis cried out, desperation masking his voice thick as he squirmed and wiggled, trying to find some way out.  The boy (“ _it’s a thing, get it right!_ ”) furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the green fish which had not squirmed one bit, before Louis could question anything the fish was being squished in between the hands of the creature.  The creature then held the mush out, offering it out for Louis.

Louis stared down at the green mush that used to be a fish, questioning the mental stability of the thing in front of him.  “I’m not eating that.” He snapped, wishing his hands were free so he could smack the green stuff from the others hands.

“But, it’ll help you.”  The boy murmured, his hands extending a little more.  Concern shone in his eyes and it truly looks gorgeous with the big green eyes and that rounded and stared right at him.

“Are you stupid?  I need you to untie me, not feed me a fish!” Louis groaned out, his teeth gritting together as he felt the water push against his neck.  “Help me!” he cried, and soon he had to desperately hold his head above the water as best he could.  He could see the glare coming from the freak in front of him, but he was too busy to try and save himself he did not care.

Gasping for air, his mouth hung wide open; the brunette swam forward and dumped the green mush down Louis’ throat.  He spluttered a little, but the boy took a large hand covered his mouth as they both emerged underneath the waters surface.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

                **Harry did not want him to die**.  This boy tied to the mass was far too beautiful for that.  He would never understand, but he wanted this boy, even if he had to go through drastic measures to make this boy his.  Harry liked the sandy colour of his hair and how soft it looks too touch, and the colour of his eyes were bluer than any sea he had been in and that is _definitely_ saying something because he has seen such amazing waters before.  Harry just felt this pang in his chest when the boy first laid eyes on him and he felt so important.  It is odd to say the least, but he liked this feeling and he wanted to keep feeling it.

So when he swam to the bottom of the ocean to see if he can find the _glow fish_ (he isn’t delusional, trust it), he smiled wide when he found it submerged into the sand.  They tend to hide, they cannot be discovered by humans, but when they feel the water movement of merpeople’s tail swishing the water roughly, they glow bright.

Harry retrieved the one and swam back up to where the boy was, smiling and showing him the fish.   He did not once seem impressed with what Harry had brought him.  He cried out in desperation to get him untied, but Harry did not want that, he wanted something else.  He closed his hands tight and squished the fish in between them, his tongue poking out in concentration.  When he offered it out to the boy, he just cursed him off and screamed to be untied again.  Harry did not understand he really did not because like he really was a going to leave this boy to die.

Groaning, Harry reached forward when the boy had his head extended high and his mouth wide open just above the water and tipped down the glow fish mush and right as they went under, he stuck his hand over the boy’s mouth to stop him from coughing it up.  Harry smiled at him again and when he felt that the fish was inside the boy he pulled his hand away and swam around him to where the binds held the rope.  He dug his fingers into the rope and may have ripped some skin from the tight pressure, but they soon loosened and were able to be pulled free.

When Harry went back to hovering in front of the boy, he pulled at the rope and it soon followed.  He smiled down at and when then looked back to the boy who looked slightly panicked.  Harry guessed he probably felt some discomfort on his lower half because that’s what most says afterwards.  Harry just smiled at him and held onto his right arm right overtop an inked design of an animal he did not recognize.  Louis stared downwards for a little bit before looking up.  He made no attempt to swim away because soon enough there were slits forming on either side of his head just underneath his ears as they allowed him to breathe.  Harry was ecstatic, the change process was going over smoothly and it seemed like nothing was going to go wrong.

The human peered down once again and mumbled a quiet, “Holy shit.” Because yes, this was the time to be shocked, it was totally expectable.  “The fish – it did this?”

Harry grinned; “Yes!” he exclaimed and pulled the boy away from the boat that had sunk a little lower since he was untied.

The surprised look on the boys face made Harry’s heart flutter a little, it was adorable really and gosh, he looked beautiful.  “How do you like it?” Harry asked.

The sandy haired boy smiled a little and responded, “Well, it’s definitely something I could get use to.” He giggled and swished around his vibrant blue scaled tail.  Harry laughed too, watching as the boy played around with it a little before looking back up with curious eyes.

“My name’s Louis, I probably should tell you.”

“’M Harry.” And he reached over and tugged at Louis’ smaller hand to show for him follow.  The two boys swam away hand in hand from the wreckage with bright smiles and the feeling that a new relationship was soon to bloom, and that was okay because Harry really did like this one and was completely okay with the decision he made.

Harry had always wished he could be a part of their world, but with Louis now by his side, his dream slowly disappeared and meshed with the constant current of water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you are, finished the story, it wasn't meant to really be long anyways. I could easily have just made it into a one shot, but whatever.  
> Tell me what you thought.


End file.
